Current consumer preferences provide an opportunity to explore novel natural ingredients against Clostridium perfringens in sous vide foods. A formulation of vinegar and lemon juice concentrate and of vinegar and citrus extract were found effective at inhibiting C. perfringens growth in pure culture, reducing endospore and vegetative cell counts, and decreasing sporulation efficiency for three strains. The ingredients also inhibited C. perfringens growth in a sous vide chicken breast model exposed to temperature abuse conditions. Both formulations inhibited spore germination and outgrowth during a period of 16 days of relatively mild temperature abuse and 24 h of extreme abuse. The ingredients also upheld accordance to the USDA FSIS stabilization guidelines (<1 log CFU/g. outgrowth of C. perfringens) during defective chilling regimens of 12 and 18 h. This research identified two natural food preservatives capable of inhibiting C. perfringens in a vacuum-sealed chicken product while maintaining a clean label.
